IKEA Marks its Debut in India : 10 Things to Know

World’s largest furniture retailer, Swedish giant IKEA opened its first store in India today with a massive 400,000-square-foot showroom on the outskirts of Hyderabad, India. The debut comes five years after it received approval to invest in the country’s single-brand retail sector.

IKEA has invested over Rs.10 billion for its India foray and eyes to open stores in all major cities in the country over the next few years.

IKEA reportedly had surveyed around 800 homes in India to study the living pattern and the Hyderabad store launch came after 12 vigorous research on the Indian household. The store houses some 7,500 products of the Swedish brand. Here are the 10 things you need to know.

l IKEA expects to welcome six million consumers every year to its store in Hitec–City, on the outskirts of Hyderabad. The store is built on a 13-acre landand has a built–up area of 4 lakh sq ft.

l The store in Hyderabad is the first of 25 such outlets planned to be set up in India by 2025. In 2013, IKEA received nod from the government to invest Rs 10,500 crore in single-brand retail.

l Ikea has invested Rs 1,000 crore on the Hyderabad store alone, which would have a range of around 7,500 products. It has so far invested Rs 4,500 crore in its different projects in India.

l IKEA will sell 1,000 items including cutlery and toys for less than Rs. 200 at its Hyderabad store. The store will be home to about 7,500 products including the retailer’s signature DIY (Do It Yourself) furniture.

l Besides retail, IKEA said it will also enter e-commerce segment in India by next year, besides exploring small format stores as part of its India expansion plans.

l Now after Hyderabad, IKEA plans to launch its second store in Mumbai, followed by Bengaluru and then Delhi-NCR. The other cities IKEA is looking at are Kolkata, Gurgaon, Chennai, Pune and Ahmedabad.

l The Hyderabad store will also house a 1,000-seat cafeteria, among India’s largest. IKEA’s most famous item is off the menu – Swedish meatballs – instead, the cafe will serve biryani and samosas and dal makhani.

l IKEA will directly employ 950 people at its store in Hyderabad and 1,500 people additional jobs will be created. The company plans to have 15,000 staff in the country by 2025. IKEA has said that half of its India workforce would be women.

l IKEA’s competitors in India include popular online brands Pepperfry and Urban Ladder. Godrej Interio, Future Group’s HomeTown and Durian Furnitures are the other competitors IKEA will face in the country, where furniture business is largely non-branded.